1. Technical Field
The present application relates to surgical instruments, and more particularly, to surgical clip appliers capable of applying one or more clips to body tissues and vessels simultaneously and thereafter, transecting body tissues and/or vessels during surgical procedures.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Surgical clip appliers are known in the art and have increased in popularity among surgeons by offering an alternative to conventional suturing of body tissues and vessels. One example of such an instrument is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,762 to Bryan et al. Although capable of applying multiple clips simultaneously, and thereafter, transecting tissue, instruments such as the one disclosed in the Bryan et al. patent perform the steps of ligating and transecting the tissue in a single motion (i.e., in one continuous motion). This continuous motion makes it difficult for the surgeon to inspect the quality of ligation before transecting the tissue.
Although instruments such as these reduce the complexity and overall time required to complete the operation, there remains a need for a clip applier having the ability to apply multiple clips simultaneously, while being able to transect tissue independently of clip application.